Did You Know Your Vacuum Cleaner Could Do This?

Most people use vacuum cleaners for what you’d expected: sucking up the dust, dander, hair, and numerous other particles that find their way onto floors and upholstered furniture. However, you may be surprised to find out that your vacuum cleaner can be used for much more than cleaning floors and sofas.

Here are some brilliant, new ways to make use of your vacuum cleaner. Get those attachments ready!

1. Prevent Dryer Lint Fires

Dryer lint buildup can pose a serious fire hazard to any home. At least a couple of times each year, take out your dryer’s lint trap and use your vacuum cleaner’s thin wand attachment to suck out excess lint from the vent.

2. Blow Up an Air Mattress

Have no fear if the electric pump to your air mattress dies. A bagged vacuum cleaner can do the job as well!

3. Find Tiny, Lost Items

We’ve all done it. At some point, we’ve dropped a pin, earring, needle, or some other small object into carpeting and simply could not find it. If this happens to you, stretch a stocking or the foot of a pair of tights or pantyhose over the mouth of your vacuum’s attachment, and vacuum over the area where you lost the item. The vacuum will suck up the item from the carpeting, and the stocking will keep the item from going all the way up into your vacuum cleaner.

4. Re-fluff Carpet Indentations

If you’ve ever moved furniture around, you’ve probably noticed the indentations that furniture leaves behind on carpeting. If an indentation is particularly stubborn, place an ice cube directly on the spot and allow it to melt. Once the water has mostly dried, vacuum over the area in every direction. Note: Refrain from using an excessive amount of ice cubes, as too much water can lead to mold growth under the carpet!

5. Clean Your Curtains

Curtains often get neglected during housecleaning, but they collect a large number of airborne particles, including dust and mold spores if they’re next to an open window. If you have curtains that can’t be machine-washed, use your vacuum cleaner’s upholstery attachment to give them a good dusting.

Vacuum cleaners certainly are handy appliances, but for certain areas of your home, a heavier-duty solution is needed. If your air ducts, attic, or crawl space is in need of a professional cleaning, contact GreenPro Cleaning and Restoration!

How to Prepare Your Home for a Summer Storm

Now that we’re in the season of summer storms, it’s not only important to keep your eye on the weather report but to also prepare your home for what might come well in advance. In order to prevent damage to your home during the worst summer storms, here are 5 important steps you should never forget to complete.

1. Get your roof inspected ahead of time.

Roof leaks are an infamous source of costly water damage. While you can survey parts of your roof from the ground, you won’t be able to get an accurate idea of its condition from that angle and distance. However, trying to traverse your roof without experience and proper training can end up in a trip to the emergency room.

In the end, it’s best to get your roof inspected by a professional, insured roofer. They will be able to spot areas of your roof that might be damaged or otherwise susceptible to leaks.

2. Tie down any outdoor furniture or move it indoors.

Gusts of wind can blow outdoor furniture across your yard, damaging your home and your landscaping. In some cases, particularly strong gusts can even carry your furniture into the yard of a neighbor and cause damage to their home. Furniture might even strike a person who happens to be outside, causing them serious injury.

If you know a storm or strong winds are headed your way, make sure to tie down your outdoor furniture or move it into the garage or basement.

3. Get your trees trimmed.

This is especially important if trees are hanging over your roof or touching your home. Stormy conditions can cause their branches (or even the whole tree) to scrape against your home or collapse on it. Also, be sure to throw away loose branches and debris. Just like unsecured furniture, fallen branches and debris can injure people or damage homes when carried by the wind.

4. Ensure your gutters are clean and securely attached to your home.

Your gutters won’t be able to steer water away from your home if they’re clogged with leaves and other debris. Make sure that they are completely debris-free and that they aren’t loose or wobbly anywhere.

5. Stock up on sandbags to redirect water, if necessary.

Sometimes your yard’s drainage system cannot adequately handle torrents of summer rain. This results in flooding across your property. Sandbag walls are useful for redirecting water away from your home so that you can avoid water damage. Keep plenty on hand, just in case!

If you suspect that your home might have water damage after a summer storm, it’s important to get your home evaluated at once. At GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration, we perform visual surveys to check the fungal ecology or problems in a specific area as directed. If there is a problem with water damage, we can help you address it.

3 Household Tasks to Complete Before a Vacation

It’s finally summer, and you are more than ready to leave for vacation. But before you go, here is a reminder of some important household tasks to complete first! These tips will give you both peace of mind while you’re gone and an in-tact home when you get back.

1. Suspend your mail.

When you leave for vacation, sometimes your mail doesn’t wait for you to get back. Leaving your mail out is a clear sign to everyone that you aren’t home. If you don’t like the sound of that, you can do two things to prevent this:

• The first is asking a family member or a trusted neighbor to pick up your mail for you.
• If this isn’t an option for you, you can go into your local post office and ask them to hold your mail. They will typically be able to hold your mail from anywhere between 3-30 days, and these arrangements can be made up to 30 days in advance.

2. Take out your garbage.

Even though you may have a lid on your garbage can, it doesn’t mean that the garbage isn’t still there. If left unemptied, it may attract insects such as flies and ants. These are pests that you certainly do not want to greet when you arrive home. Remember to clean out your sink as well, as dirty sinks are very attractive to cockroaches. If by some miracle bugs don’t come, bacteria and germs sure will, which can lead to unwanted illness in your home.

3. Shut off your main water valve.

Shutting off your main water valve is one of the most important things you can do before leaving for vacation. It is the smartest and easiest way to keep your house from flooding while away. If the water remains running while you’re gone, the pressure built up from its non-use can cause a small leak or even a burst to flood your home. The water damage caused by leaks and flooding can prove to be a substantial expense, but shutting off your main water valve will take away any chance for a leak to surface.   

If you do return home and suspect water damage, make sure to contact GreenPro Cleaning and Restoration to perform a professional visual survey to determine any problems. Just remember never to touch wet or damaged items with bare hands, nor should you breathe in damp or odorous air. Mold and bacteria thrive in such environments and could cause severe health issues to those that come in contact with it.

Don't Forget These 7 Summer Home Maintenance Tips

With summer just around the corner, it’s a good idea to make sure your home is prepared to handle everything that comes with the season. The most important thing to remember is that in order to properly prepare your home, it’s going to need maintenance inside as well as outside.

Here are 7 maintenance tips you’ll want to make sure to tackle before summer really gets going.

1. Clean, repair, or replace your window screens.

Window screens allow you to let cool, morning temperatures and evening breezes into your home without letting in bugs and birds as well. However, a dusty, grimy screen can prevent airflow from occurring--or worse--can make your indoor air dirtier.

Make sure to take down your window screens to give them a gentle scrub with hot, soapy water. While doing this, look for tears or gaps through which insects might enter and repair as needed. In some cases, replacing an old, worn screen here and there might be the best option.

2. Dust your ceiling fans.

Ceiling fans tend to accumulate a lot of dust, particularly on top of the blades. Dust the body and blades of your ceiling fans thoroughly with a microfiber cloth.

3. Reverse your ceiling fans.

After dusting your fans, you’ll want to make sure that your ceiling fans are spinning in the right direction (counter-clockwise) to properly cool the rooms they’re in, as you may have reversed their direction for the opposite effect during winter.

4. Inspect your deck and balconies.

Check the floor, railings, and pillars of your deck and balconies for any safety hazards, namely signs of rotting or termite damage. That kind of damage should be repaired as soon as possible to prevent any accidents or injuries.

Also, check for any nail heads that may be jutting out of the wood, and hammer any protruding nails back into place. Lastly, check to see if your deck needs to be resealed by splashing a little water onto its boards. If the water soaks into the wood, rather than beading up, you’ll know that your deck should be resealed.

5. Inspect your sprinkler system.

Make sure that none of the sprinkler heads have become buried or knocked off center, and then slowly turn your system on so that you can look for leaks and water pressure issues. Afterward, adjust your sprinkler system’s watering schedule for longer, hotter days.

6. Add mulch to your garden.

Putting mulch in your flower beds allows them to better retain moisture and also helps suppress weeds.

7. Make sure your attic and crawlspace are treated for mold and harmful bacteria.

If your attic and crawlspace are already prone to excess moisture (which many are), the warmth of summer months can lead to extensive mold and bacteria growth, resulting in foul odors and poor indoor air quality. It’s a good idea to get the often-neglected areas professionally cleaned to prevent this issue.

The Most Common Places People Forget to Clean in Their Homes

The time for spring cleaning has come! Whether you have your spring cleaning routine down perfectly or have no idea where to start, make sure that you don’t forget to tidy up these often-forgotten places in your home.

Coffee Maker

It’s not at all pleasant to think about, but if your coffee maker isn’t cleaned frequently enough, it can start to accumulate mold. What’s worse, that mold ends up in the coffee you drink and can make you sick.

Cleaning Suggestions:

• To deep clean: instead of simply running water through the machine, run a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar through it. This will help because white vinegar is a natural disinfectant. Just make sure you run a water-only cycle through the machine afterward.

Curtains, Shades, and Blinds

As time goes on, your window coverings accumulate dust and other debris from indoors (like dander, pet fur, and mold). If you tend to leave your windows open frequently, your curtains will also collect debris from outside, including pollen, even if you use a window screen.

Cleaning Suggestions:

• If your curtains are machine washable, toss them in the machine for the quickest cleaning.
• If machine washing isn’t an option, you may be able to vacuum them using the fabric attachment--or just use a lint roller.

Ceiling Fans

Considering that the blades of your ceiling fans push air around your rooms, the last thing you want is for them to spread additional dust with the air they push. You may not be able to see the top of the blades, but trust us--if you haven’t dusted there before, there will be a fine collection of dust waiting for you.

Cleaning Suggestions:

• There are dusters specifically shaped for ceiling fans that also have the extra reach that you may need when cleaning them.
• If you’re able to reach your ceiling fan from a sturdy surface, you can sheathe the blades one at a time in an old pillowcase and wipe them down.

Lampshades

Like any other exposed surface in your home, lampshades can acquire quite a bit of dust over time, but they are seldom cleaned.

Cleaning Suggestions:

• Roll a lint roller over the inside and outside of the lampshade, and use a hairdryer to blow out any dust that is hiding in the creases or pleats.
• You can also use a dry dust cloth if the shape of the lampshade will not lend itself to lint-rolling.

Washing Machine

Don’t forget this one! After all, how can a washing machine properly wash your clothes if the machine itself isn’t clean?

Cleaning Suggestions:

• If your machine comes with a self-wash cycle, simply use it following the instructions in the appliance’s manual. You’ll know if your machine has this because there will be a button or dial setting labeled something like “self-wash.”
• If your machine does not self-wash, put in a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar in the machine on a cycle with hot water.
• To keep your machine from getting musty, leave its lid open after each wash.